The nohris petfrs co



(No Model.)

n R. F. GRAY.

NURIA.

Patented Apr. 5, 1898.

UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE.

REUBEN F. GRAY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

NoalA.

sPEcIFIcATIoN forming pare of Letters Patent No. 601,957, dated April 5, 189s.

l Application filed October 8,1897. Serial No. 654,567. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, REU BEN F. GRAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Washington, in the District of Oolumbia, have insage throughthe water at the lower side of the wheel is lessened to the consequent gain in the capacity of the noria; and it further consists in the valves arranged in the buckets in such manner as to prevent a vacuum from being formed in the column of water on theoperating side of the wheel, as will be more fully vset forth hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for raising water for irrigating and kindred purposes which shall be of increased capacity with a given horse-power, which shall be of` such simple construction that it may be readily made and arranged-for operation by the ordinary millwrights and artisans to be found in countryplaces, which shall be" very strong and durable, and which shall raise the water by suction into the confined space formed by the casing on the working side of the wheel. h

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is partly an elevation and artly a sectional view on the line y y of Fig. 2 of a wheel and its inclosing case embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is partly a top plan View and partly a longitudinal section of the same on the line a: :rof Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a detail section taken on the line e' ,c of Fig. l.

The wheel A is mounted concentrically in the case B, which is of circular form, with its upper portion cut away at a suitable height or level and its lower-portion on one side also cut away to allow free ingress of water to the wheel. In practice the lower portion of the casing and of the wheel will be submerged in a ditch or stream and the shaft C, on which the wheel is mounted and which rotates in the sides of the case, will be geared or otherwise connected to a horse-power mill or steamengine orother suitable motor, so that the wheel will be revolved in the casing, the latter of course remaining at all ti mes stationary.

The rim a of the wheel is closed and entire,

but the framework or spokes thereof are open and of such construction as may be preferred,

either of wood or iron mods, as may be found 6o to be most suitable or economical. The rim of the wheel fits snugly between the sides of the casing and is adapted to revolvev between them and is packed with leather or other suitable material, as at b, to effect a practically water-tight joint.

Arranged on the rim of thewheel are a s eries of suction-buckets c, preferablythree in number; but this number may be increased at will, which suction-buckets are spaced at 7oregular intervals apart. The cross-sections of the buckets correspond with the cross-section of theispace between the casing and the rim of the wheel, and the ends of the suctionbuckets which are presented in the direction of therotation of the wheel (indicated by the arrow vin Fig. l) are reduced to a-wedge or prow shape, as at d, and thereby adapted lto move through the water on the lower side of the wheel with the least possible-resistance 8o thereto, thereby very greatly reducing the dead resistance and enabling the wheel to be rotated by a force only slightly in excess of that required to lift the column of water on the working side of the Wheel between two 8 5 of the buckets and the wheel-rim and the casing,as will be readily understood. As each of the suction-buckets ascends its tendency is to create a partial vacuuln on the working'l side o'f the wheel, thereby causing a column 9o of water to ascend behind the said bucket, and the buckets areso spaced that just before the topmost bucket clears the upper portion of the casing the next bucket following entersthe confined space between the casing 95 and the rim of the wheel below the column of water which is rising, and as the wheel continues' to rotate said lowermost bucket lifts the column of water which was sucked up behind its predecessor, causing the water 10o It will be understood from the foregoing that by causing the buckets to act as suckers and by giving them the wedge or prow shape the dead resistance of the water in which the lower portion of the wheel is submerged is reduced to the minimum, thereby greatly enhancing the efficiency of the device. The rear sides of the suction-buckets may be either lengthened out and given a stern wedge shape, as at e, to facilitate the escape of the water from the buckets as they successively rise above the'casing, or they may be out oif radially, as at f, Fig. l, the former being preferable when the wheel is to be rotated at a comparatively high rate of speed and the latter being preferable or sufficient when the wheel is to be operated at a low rate of speed. The sides of the buckets are also packed with leather or other suitable material, as at b', to prevent the escape of water between them and the sides of the casing.

When the wheel is in rotation and operation, just before each of the buckets in Vsuccession rises above the side of the casing and while its tendency to create a vacuum below it is at its maximum its successor is entering the working water space or chamber formed between the casing and the working side of the wheel and hence cutting olf the supply of water thereto. As the orifice diminishes, the speed of the column of water entering the said space or chamber is reduced by operation of the nena contracter, thus causing an additional load to be at this instant imposed upon the working side of the wheel, which manifests itself in a suddenshock and tends seriously to damage the wheel and its casing and to retard the speed of the wheel. In order to prevent this injurious stress, I provide each of the suction-buckets with a valve g, which fits in a longitudinal opening h, made in the keel of the bucket and extending through the rim of the wheel, the outer portion of said opening at its sides and ends being flared outwardly, as at i, to form a seat in which the valve normally rests with its outer side iiush with the face of the bucket. The rear end of each of the valves is pivoted on a pin 7c, the hole in which the pivot is being enlarged radially with reference to the center of the wheel, as at Z, to admit of the radial movement of the valve on its pivot-pin, and the front end of each valve has an arm m, adapted to engage a shoulder n, formed under the valve-seat in the recess or opening h,

thus adapting the valve to move radially also at this end, and hence rendering the valve capable of radial motion with reference to the center of the wheel in its seat, and as the sides of the latter flare outwardly it will be understood that when the valve moves outwardly it opens the opening h and permits the free passage of air therethrough from the interior of the wheel into the column of water on the working side thereof, and when the valve is seated it closes said opening and prevents the escape of air through the rim of the wheel into the, column 'of water. The pressure of the column of water will suffice to normally keep the valve seated; but when the iniiowing stream of water Vproduces a cena contracten and thus tends to create a vacuum the valve will move outwardly in its seat and admit air to the water-space in sufficient quantity to prevent the stress which would otherwise be caused by the vacu um, as will be readily understood.

The form of valve herein shownand described is merely a preferred form and may be departed from and varied without departing from the spirit of my invention, which contemplates, broadly, any preferred means for admitting air to the water-space and preventing the injurious rack and stress caused by the formation of the vacuum. v

Having thus described my invention, l claiml. In anoria, in combination with the wheel A, and the casing, the buckets c on the periphery of said wheel, said buckets being prowshaped, as at ol, for the purpose set forth, substantially as described.

2. In a noria, the combination of the wheel having the buckets, the casing forming a water space or chamber on one side of the wheel, and the valves, to prevent the formation of a vacuum in the said water space or chamber, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a noria, the combination with the casing, forming the Water space or chamber, of the wheel A having the peripheral buckets, the said buckets having their front and rear ends respectively prow-shaped, as atr d, and stern-shaped as at e, for the purposes set forth, substantially as described.

" REUBEN F. GRAY.

Vitnesses:

J. W; GARNER, VENA A. WELLS. 

